Hi! I've never experienced it before and I'm wondering how you know if your dc is self-weaning? My ds is down to 2 nursing sessions a day (at most) and my supply is really depleting fast. He just doesn't seem interested (too busy looking elsewhere). He does like to nurse (when it's his idea and when he's tired), but otherwise, doesn't stay latched on for more that a minute or two. Is that considered self-weaning or is it the vicious circle of less nursing, less milk, less interest, less milk, etc... thing?

Can I build my milk supply back up again or am I too far gone? I've got the More Milk Plus tincture and then funugreek and blessed thistle capsules too...

TIA mamas!!

Updated questions:

My supply is REALLY suffering!! How do I keep up my already low supply when he won't eat? How often/how much fenugreek/blessed thistle or More Milk Plus should I use? How often/how long should I pump. He won't nurse AT ALL!! PLEASE help!!

My only concern is the reduction in nursing sessions on top of the reduced nursing time each session. Maybe I should just occassionally power and keep up with the fenugreek and blessed thistle. I always have low supply...

I think you have to do what works for you. DJ was my first so when he got to the point that he was VERY easily distracted, I was able to do things like go to a quiet (boring) place and nurse him and really stay on top of pumping to keep my supply up, etc. James has never really been "into" nursing, so around 8-9 months it got to be so much work to get him to nurse. Around that time, I had a really tough spell at work and went about a week without pumping regularly so my supply was seriously hurting. I decided that at that point, it wasn't worth it to go through what we'd have to go through to continue nursing. I let him nurse as much as he wanted and even encouraged him to nurse more but I didn't force it and kind of let it end.

I think that with DJ, really pushing to continue nursing was what was best for both of us. I think that with James, allowing him to wean was the right choice for all of us.

Good luck figuring out what will work for you!

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Barbara - Unexpectedly back after a long hiatus...anxiously awaiting #6!

My only concern is the reduction in nursing sessions on top of the reduced nursing time each session. Maybe I should just occassionally power and keep up with the fenugreek and blessed thistle. I always have low supply...

Beer is supposed to help too. I had good luck with fenugreek (was trying to avoid the "six month slump").

My dd went through this 11-12 months (granted, I was also pregnant which may have had something to do with it) when she started crawling and cruising. It was like she had no time to stop and nurse anymore. Some days she would only nurse once and sometimes she would completely skip a day. I thought for sure she was weaning, but just went with whatever she wanted and around 14 months she started nursing like normal again.

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Mom to DD#1 (12/05), DD#2 (5/07), DS (6/09), and DD#3 (4/11)

My daughter self-weaned at 12.5 months. She gradually refused it, dropping one or two nursings in a month. By her first birthday I was nursing her only in the morning at 5am...one day she didn't wake up for it and refused to take it when she woke for the day. It was sad for me...but I'm glad I did it for so long and she made the decision to stop on her own.

My supply is REALLY suffering!! How do I keep up my already low supply when he won't eat? How often/how much fenugreek/blessed thistle or More Milk Plus should I use? How often/how long should I pump. He won't nurse AT ALL!! PLEASE help!! [/QUOTE]

Is he drinking anything at all? Does he refuse to take it out of a sippy cup as well? I would be more concerned about that. I know it is hard to have him stop nursing, but maybe he's ready to stop.

When my supply was low when she was 6 months, I took fenugreek tea twice or three times a day. I've heard you should take fenugreek and blessed thistle three times a day if you are taking them by pill form.